This holiday is for honoring and enjoying the sweet flavor of sugar cookies and sharing them with friends and family. Let this holiday remind you of fond memories of days gone by. Let today be the day you learn to decorate a sugar cookie in a new way. Let today be the day you buy a new cookie cutter and enjoy using it by baking homemade sugar cookies. Splurge on your cookies by buying different colored sugars to sprinckle on top. Let today be the day you sit down with a tall cold glass of milk or hot coffee, a large plate of fresh cookies, and have no guilt at eating them all up.

Origin of this Holiday?

Our research did not find the creator, or the origin of this day.

This holiday is referred to as a "National" day. However, we did not find any congressional records or presidential proclamations for this day.

Even though we didn't, this is still a holiday that is publicized to celebrate.

So have fun with it and celebrate it!

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What is a Sugar Cookie?

A sugar cookie is a cookie usually made with baking soda, sugar, eggs, flour, vinegar, salt, milk and vanilla.

In the mid-1700s, German Protestant settlers in the Nazareth area of Pennsylvania perfected the recipe of the sugar cookie; thus, the sugar cookie is sometimes referred to as the Nazareth Sugar Cookie. On September 5, 2001, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania adopted the sugar cookie as its official cookie.

While other types of cookies, such as the chocolate chip cookie, are usually baked and consumed in circle form, these cookies can be rolled out and cut into shapes with cookie cutters, as well as decorated with sugar sprinkles or icing. Sugar cookies, like most other cookies, are baked until crisp, although some people prefer them to be soft and chewy. Soft and chewy has its advantage that more vanilla flavour.

Companies such as General Mills offer quick sugar cookie mixes under brand names such as Betty Crocker, which generally only need to have eggs and/or water added to them to be completed.

Tradition

Traditionally in the United States, since the 1930’s, children leave cookies and milk for Santa on Christmas eve. Often sugar cookies are cut into various holiday shapes (candy canes, reindeer, and holly leaves being a few). Oreos are also popular. Several cookies are set out on Christmas Eve with a cup of milk for Santa.

Grannie Gilbert's Sugar Cookies are a recipe of sugar cookies running with the Gilbert women of Ontario, Canada for more than 100 years. No one knows where the recipe started, but it's been that way as long as any can recall with no real change.

2-3 cups (250-375 g) of flour

2 teaspoons (10 g) of baking powder

1 cup (200 g) of sugar

1 cup (230 g) of shortening/butter

a pinch of salt

vanilla

3 eggs

1. In a large bowl beat eggs lightly to break the yolks as one would for scrambled eggs, then mix in the shortening. Soften the butter before hand if you must by heating it a little.

2. The shortening/egg mixture should be loose, add the sugar, mix well then add the salt to the liquid mixture.

3. Add the baking powder then slowly add the flour as needed to reach a proper doughy state, you may not need all of the flour, or may even need a little more based on your eggs and how closely you measured.

4. Make balls and place onto a pan then into an oven heated to 175°C (350°F) and let bake for between 15-20 minutes.

Notes, tips, and variations

Feel free to switch out half the sugar with another sweet item, like honey.

Using three tablespoons of cocoa powder one can get a slight chocolate flavour to the cookie, without being overtly chocolatey.

By having a Cookie Exchange Party! - Cookie exchange parties are a lot of fun. All you have to do is invite your guests and ask each of them to bring a plate of some type of cookie. During the party you all eat and sample all the cookies, exchange cookie recipes and at the end of the party all the cookies that are left, are divided and sent home with everyone. Great idea right!

By having the kids draw & color their favorite cookies.

By Finding all the ways cookies can be used. For example: cookies can be crushed and put on top of ice cream, crushed and used as a pie crust.

Send Free E-Greeting! - If your ready to get together with your friends don't forget to invite them with these fun Internet Invitations.

"Cookies appear to have their origins in 7th century AD Persia, shortly after the use of sugar became relatively common in the region. They spread to Europe through the Muslim conquest of Spain. By the 14th century, they were common in all levels of society, throughout Europe, from royal cuisine to street vendors."